Slocum Gordon & Co LLP Buys 2,000 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Slocum Gordon & Co LLP boosted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 400.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. raised its position in Caterpillar by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 1,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 77,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,433,000 after buying an additional 8,212 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 2,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Caterpillar by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,726,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CAT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.13.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $365.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $176.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $378.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $371.22. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.